Civil service is impartial: Really?

It states that “But Senior Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee defended the impartiality of the civil service, saying her allegations were serious and unwarranted.

He cited three broad reasons. First, public servants understand the need for fairness and will act and do what is right, he said.

Second, the People’s Action Party’s track record shows it will act on alleged wrongdoing and not sweep things under the carpet. A case in point is the investigation of Ang Mo Kio Town Council’s general manager and secretary, said Mr Lee. AMKTC is the town council of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“Even in the PM’s town council, when allegations were made, they took the first step to make a report and now the CPIB (Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau) is investigating,” he said.

Third, any abuse of public powers is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts.

“Politicisation of the public service”

Mr Singh said this can lead to the politicisation of the public service, adding: “The MND risks becoming a tool of the ruling party of the day to fix the opposition.”

History of “politically (not) neutral body”

Ms Lim said: “It is not possible to argue that the ministry is a politically neutral body as recent history unfortunately belies that claim.”

“An active campaigner against the WP”

She said the ministry was “an active campaigner against the WP” in the 2015 General Election, regularly issuing statements on alleged misconduct of the WP-run town council. But after Polling Day, she said, little was heard for weeks. She added that civil servants cannot be expected to issue stinging reports against a town council run by a minister.”

The historical record of “impartiality”?

Let’s look at some analysis of how impartial the civil service has been, particularly to the opposition, over the years:

About the Author

Leong Sze Hian has served as president of 4 professional bodies, honorary consul of 2 countries, an alumnus of Harvard University, authored 4 books, quoted over 1500 times in the media , has been a radio talkshow host, a newspaper daily columnist, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow, columnist for theonlinecitizen and Malaysiakini, executive producer of Ilo Ilo (40 international awards), invited to speak more than 200 times in over 30 countries, CIFA advisory board member, founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Indonesia and Brunei. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional qualifications.